A 60-year-old speech-impaired man was reunited with his family more than 25 years after he disappeared thanks to social media and a tattoo on his hand that was fading away.
Chandrashekhar Maurya said on Saturday his uncle Jilajeet Maurya, a resident of Gothaav village in Azamgarh district, went missing on June 1, 1996 when he had gone to attend a 'pooja'.
"At that time, he was 35 years old. Our family searched for him, but he could not be traced," he told PTI.
With no clue about him for days, the family's hope of finding him diminished as days turned into months and months into years. But a glimmer of hope came their way three months ago!
"We got information through Internet media three months ago that he was living at a village in Amethi, and launched efforts to search him," Chandrashekhar Maurya said.
But the hope gave way to dismay again when they could not find him there. But all changed on Tuesday.
"On December 13, 2022, it was known to us that he was in Rae Bareli district. His location was then traced to Hatwa village, and he was living in the house of village pradhan Shivendra Singh," said Chandrashekhar Maurya.
He said his uncle had a tattoo on his hand, but it was fading away.
"His name Jilajeet and the name of the village Gothaav were not very clear," he said. But what helped them identify him was his last name and the name of the district. "The words Maurya and Azamgarh were quite clear."
The family was overwhelmed with emotions when they had the first glimpse of him in 25 years. "My uncle also could not control his tears as he hugged us," Chandrashekhar said.
Jilajeet Maurya, who has not married, was brought home from Rae Bareli in Gothaav village in Azamgarh on Tuesday night.
The nephew said his family thanked Shivendra Singh profusely for keeping Jilaajeet Maurya safe.
A large number of people turned up to see him, said the neph